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Aerospace pioneer joins Zenno Astronautics team as CTO


Zenno’s CEO and co-founder Max Arshavsky

New Zealand headquartered space-flight systems company Zenno Astronautics (Zenno) announced the appointment of Dr Malcolm Snowdon as its Chief Technology Officer. 


As Chief Technology Officer, Malcolm will lead the technical strategy and product development for Zenno’s proprietary high-temperature superconducting electromagnet technology. Bringing to market a range of space applications for satellite operators and manufacturers, kicking off with fuel-free attitude control. 


Zenno’s Max Arshavsky (CEO and co-founder) and Erica Lloyd (CRO) with Z01™, the world’s first superconducting magnetic torquer for fuel-free spacecraft attitude control.

Malcolm, a pioneer in New Zealand's aerospace sector, has built space systems for over 15 years. He completed his PhD in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Canterbury, designing world-leading control algorithms and New Zealand's first guided rockets. He was employee number six at Rocket Lab, joining in 2010 as a navigation and control engineer to develop the navigation system for the Electron launch vehicle. In 2019, he founded Argo Navis Aerospace to develop liquid rocket engines for the global space launch industry. 


Photo credit SpaceX. Zenno’s Z01™ SuperTorquer lifted off on its first space launch on December 1, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

Zenno Astronautics co-founder and CEO Max Arshavsky says, “Malcolm is a world-class engineering leader and is a performance output machine. His ability to deliver on complex and highly disruptive projects is impossible to match.” 

Z01™, the world’s first superconducting magnetic torquer for fuel-free spacecraft attitude control.

Zenno Astronautics’ new CTO, Malcolm Snowdon, says, “I am thrilled to join the talented Zenno team and to get cracking on the roadmap. Zenno’s core technology and IP is transformational, and there is nothing as exciting in terms of engineering challenges as working in the space sector. Zenno’s initial product, Z01, is a significant upgrade for spacecraft attitude control. And it is just the start for Zenno with other technologies in the pipeline.”


For more information visit: www.zenno.space


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